The N-threat amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine is an alarm for the entire world
Much water has flown down the Moskva since the day Russian infantry and artillery units started off from their barracks to invade Ukraine. Later, they were even followed by a 60-km-long convoy of Russian armoured vehicles in the Kremlin’s hitherto-unsuccessful attempts to breach the defences of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. But they haven’t been able to taste success in their endeavour so far in the face of strength and resilience shown by Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned into an unlikely hero overnight when he snubbed a US offer to be evacuated from the war-ravaged country with a terse: “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.” And he’s been true to his word, so far. In his latest address, Zelenskiy has ruled out surrender and said his country would rather be “destroyed” before it surrenders its cities to invading Russian forces. However, keeping the gate for negotiations also open, he doubled down on a call for direct talks with Russian “aggressor” Vladimir Putin as the key to ending the war. Just a few days earlier, Zelenskiy had warned that unless “direct talks” took place, the quickly escalating situation may lead to a third world war.
Now, there is another global fallout that has been brought to the attention of the world leaders. The farmers of Ukraine, which is one of the largest producers and supplier of grains, are unable to sow and farm in the face of the Russian attack and shelling, and Zelenskiy warns that the Russia war could lead to famine in other nations even as the Ukraine refugee exodus has surpassed 3.5 million. Meanwhile, President Putin, following up on his macho pursuits, has warned he would cleanse Russia of the “scum and traitors” who work covertly for the US and its allies. He has also ordered a nuclear war evacuation drill amid the escalating tension. As the Russia-Ukraine war goes on along with negotiations, Moscow has claimed to have used its advanced hypersonic missile on Ukraine. With all indications that Putin might be inching towards a nuclear war, the report of a nuclear evacuation drill has shocked even Kremlin officials. There are even reports that Putin has moved unidentified members of his immediate family to a hi-tech underground bunker, which is a whole underground city, in the Altai mountains of Siberia. Be that as it may, the ‘N’ word doesn’t portend well for anybody involved in the war, or even otherwise.